Bye-Bye AkbarThe Swanker says "You can add the name Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the pantheon of misfits, megalomaniacs and kleptocrats that have taken residence in Merdeka Palace as President of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia."

I don't necessarily agree with that; the 'people' have spoken and SBY will be the first President to have received both a popular mandate and an education. Whether he can think for himself has yet to be proved.

The names being touted for SBY's Cabinet show a few acceptable 'reformist' characters, such as the maverick Kwik Kian Gie, currently Megawati's National Development Planning Minister. "I'm not a cow to trade nor a goat to be told what to do by Akbar and Mega. I will oblige provided the order makes sense." In other words, he is not a military man and as an added bonus he has often been a thorn in the side of Mega's husband who seemed to enjoy the spoils of being First Husband.

What is a worry is the number of (ex) army personnel lining up for a similar dip in the trough. The president-in-waiting has said his ministers must be capable, experienced and loyal to the state. Reformers and investors are hoping he will add professionalism, integrity and courage to the list of criteria.

What is better to note is that the coalition of Akbar Tanjung's Golkar and Mega's PDI-P is rapidly collapsing. This is far from being a rainbow coalition; the pot of gold is disappearing fast, much to Akbar's disappointment. His dreams are fading fast as the opportunist rats leave his sinking ship so he'll have to live off the ill-gotten gains acquired as a Soeharto acolyte.

Myrick has an analysis I can only agree with. As he says, When a former dictatorial ruling party loses its dictator, it generally has little to hold it together except for the prospect of keeping power as a united front. If it is unable to do that, then it loses its reason for existence. Akbar only seemed to exist for himself; he won't, therefore, be missed.

Jolly good, but one can only hope that the bureaucracy can adapt quickly. Not so long ago, their livelihoods depended on loyalty to Golkar and Akbar. Whither loyalty now?

BlogsharesCan any of my readers tell me how come someone owns shares in my blog?
They have appreciated in value 18.9% in the past month, which I presume is a good thing. But what does it mean?

I'm rich!

If you can't help, then I'll call Kwik Kian Gie, though I suspect he'll be too busy to reply.